I’ve decided to end my blog and blow your minds with what might be. This post is about the FUTURE!

Being able to print your lunch out from a printer sounds like science fiction doesn’t it? Well it is, the idea was first introduced to the public in Star Trek: the next generation but could become a reality thanks to NASA. The space travel agency has just given a grant to a mechanical engineer of $125,000 US dollars to produce a prototype of a food printer that creates edible food, or to them a ‘universal food synthesizer’!

NASA aims to use this technology to provide astronauts with food on long distance expeditions such as their ‘mission to mars’ projects. The engineer, of this fantastical machinery has higher hopes for it. By cutting down on wastage the food printer could be the answer to the increasing food shortage problems that loom in the future.

The software for the printer is based on the ‘Mendal’ 3D printer and the concept is using the basic building blocks of food; carbohydrates, protein and fats to form replaceable powder printer cartridges to form food. By combining the cartridges you have the potential to make many different types of food. What makes this system so good for space agents is the lifespan of the food is up to 30 years!

The creator of this futuristic machine has already proved himself by printing chocolate and is setting his sights on printing pizza next. The idea is the machine will print a layer of dough, which will be cooked while being printed. Then the dough will be coated in a tomato paste by mixing tomato powder with oil and water and being printed onto it. The topping of the pizza will be a nondescript protein layer, this is the part I don’t know about but it is early days in the project.

The food printer is a way for people of the future to customize nutritionally appropriate meals for themselves. The powder for of protein also has the potential to shift our protein intake from animals to insects because in a powder form it is easier to stomach. This has the potential to create healthier foods, decrease the carbon emissions from livestock farming and solve the food shortage problem for the future earth inhabitants.

Looks like you or perhaps your children could be printing out pizza for dinner.

Sharks are not the only animals that are eaten as delicacies around the world. Endangered and threatened animals are making menus in many countries without reaching headlines. These animals are majestic and wonderful and human greed is taking them from the world.

Throughout Africa, Asia, Central and South Americagreat Apes and primates are under threat from not only the destruction of their habitat but the bush meat trade. Chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas are hunted for their meat to feed the illegal bush meat trade. Not only is this verging on cannibalism as primates and humans are so similar but it also spreads diseases such as HIV and Ebola.

Due to over fishing the Bluefin Tuna are becoming seriously in danger of extinction. They are one of the most highly prized fish in Japanese sushi and their economic worth is causing motivation for fishermen to overfish. A single bluefin can sell for $100,000 at Tokyo’s famed fish markets. The problem is so severe that extinction in some regions is expected in the very near future, within years. Despite the severity of the situation there are still no international fishing bans set and the fish continue to die. Like the shark these fish are at the top of the food chain so without them in our waters the oceans ecology will change drastically.

Elephants are sensitive creatures by nature with vast memories and strong family ties. For years humans have harassed them, everybody knows about poachers killing elephants for their tusks however little is known about the sale of elephant meat on the black market. These giants are being killed illegally due to the amount of money their meat can fetch. While ivory can fetch $180 elephant meat can be sold for up to $6000 on the black market. So while they have strong, wide-spread protection they will continue to be hunted illegally as long is there is demand. This is truly tragic and those who create the demand have a lot to answer for.

Despite whaling being banned for many years whalers have found a way to continue slaughtering these awesome sea creatures. They use a loop hole in the ban that enables whales to be killed for scientific purposes so these whaling ships go out on the pretense that they are performing a scientific experiment yet not one paper has been published and it is yet to be shown what they are studying. Japan is one of the main culprits in these excursions.

Dolphins are one of the most intelligent and social animals on the planet yet in many cultures their meat is prized more than their intelligence. Dolphin drive hunting is the process used to fish dolphins and involves herding dolphins into a bay or onto a beach then cutting them off from the ocean with boats or nets to make for easy pickings. This method of fishing is brutal, cruel and stupid as dolphin meat is considered to be dangerous for human consumption. Take a look at this award winning documentary about dolphin drive hunting, if you have the stomach for it.

These are just a few of the animals at risk due to human greed. There are many more that reach the menu’s and need help in order to survive the largest predator on earth, the human.

I’m going to take the opportunity to do a few blog posts about a subject I am hugely passionate about. How animals are being made endangered in cruel ways so that they can be used to feed the rich.

This post I’m concentrating on shark finning. I know that for many sharks are not their favourite animals, they are definitely not mine as I’m scared silly of them! However no animal on the planet should ever be subjected to the cruelty of finning; brutally butchered and left to drown on the ocean floor.

Shark finning involves the removal of the sharks fin from their bodies then the disposal of the body, often still alive into the ocean to make more room for the fins of more butchered sharks. The shark then dies either through suffocation or predation because it can no longer move normally. This awful practice is the main contributing factor for almost 40 species of sharks and rays being listed as threatened species and a drop in shark species by 80%. The implications of the disappearing sharks a huge, affecting full ecosystems.

Shark fins are used to make the Chinese delicacy shark-fin soup and other traditional cures. The demand has increased over the past decade due to improved fishing technologies and market economics; shark fins can be sold for much more than shark meat. The estimated global value of the shark fin trade is US 1.2 billion dollars and this is because a bowl of shark fin soup can sell for around 70-150 dollars. This means that essentially one of the most beautiful and mysterious animals on the planet is being sacrificed so that rich fatcats can show their wealth by eating shark-fin soup.

Because sharks are at the top of the food chain and have few predators they grow and reproduce slowly, this means at the rate we are going within 10-20 years they will be wiped out. So what happens if sharks become extinct?? The removal of sharks from the ocean enables fish and other mammals they prey on to become plentiful and ruin the oceans food chain.

The extinction of sharks not only affects the ocean but it could cause major trouble for us land dwellers. The largest producer of oxygen in the world is the phytoplankton that float around in the sea… being eaten by many different fish and sea creatures. If these sea creatures are no longer being predated by sharks they will grow in population and their demand for phytoplankton will increase. The end result being less oxygen for YOU.

There’s food that can alter your state of mind and berries that can alter your taste buds, food can have more effects than making you full.

Have you ever heard the saying “eating cheese gives you nightmares,” and thought that can’t be right? Some of you may have done a small experiment of your own to test it. Proper studies have been done to test whether this old wives tale has some truth to it. Although these studies were not very scientifically viable, being more of a marketing ploy than scientific research, they did find something that could link cheese to bad or vivid dreams. Eating heavy meals with high fat content (cheesy meals) late at night can cause indigestion. Indigestion can disturb your sleep and often disturbed sleep is linked with nightmares that you are more likely to remember in the morning making them vivid in your mind. Of course this effect might have more to do with the overeating and less to do with the cheese but maybe avoid the late night cheese binges just in case!

Imagine if eating an onion tasted like biting into a donut – a rather crunchy donut but sweet non the less. Or if Tabasco sauce tasted like melted chocolate. Well its possible for these things to happen, all you have to do is eat a small red berry before digging into these unconventional snacks. The berry, dubbed the miracle berry, can alter how your taste buds recognize different flavours. Sour and spicy turn into really sweet. The completely harmless berry contains a protein (a small compound) that binds to your taste buds and produces sweet flavours when is comes into contact with acid. The taste bud trip last up to 2 hours, so don’t worry you’ll be able to drink a beer without it turning to custard in your mouth. These miracle berries are hard to come by but if you get the chance throw a crazy food tasting party!

Mushroom can be more than great tasting; they can be absolutely mind altering! Certain types of mushrooms in the Psilocybegenera are a taste of Alice in Wonderland and so are aptly named magic mushrooms. Ingesting magic mushrooms causes a difference in mood, perception and behavior causing the consumer to appear on drugs, which is technically what they are on. Magic mushrooms are a class of psychotropic drug along with the man-made drug LSD (acid) and molecules called psilocybin and psilocin within the mushroom cause their effects. Mushrooms have been around for thousands of years and have been recorded as used in religious or spiritual ceremonies due to the feeling of communing with a higher power. There has been much debate on whether mushies are dangerous (doesn’t sound very dangerous when called mushies huh?) but there is consensus that if you have mental health issues its best to avoid psychotropic drugs!

There you go; 3 foods that can do crazy things to your mind and tongue. Comment if you have any others and if you’ve tried these!!

If your anything like me you wake up in the morning groaning, and with blurry eyes you search for your alarm and hit that sweet savior the snooze button for 10 more minutes of bliss. Mornings are the worst for us bed dwellers so I’ve decided to search for a cure in the form of what we can eat. This is mainly because one of the motivating factors of getting up for me is breakfast!

The most obvious thing in the kitchen to help lift the fog of sleep from your brain is coffee, and lets be honest it works. The only problem with coffee is that it is actually a drug. That’s right you are a drug addict. And the side effects of drinking this drug in the morning can be less than perfect. If you over do it you can experience nervousness and shaking. If you start to rely on it to heavily as your morning energizer you can get withdrawal symptoms when you stop like headaches and irritability.

Instead of the coffee buzz you should think about drinking a tall glass of water in the morning. What most people don’t realize, including me is that most mornings you wake up dehydrated. If you think about it in terms of going a full workday without a drink that’s essentially what happens when you’re sleeping. One of the side effects of dehydration is fatigue and lethargy so this may be your problem. I think its mine so I’m going to wake up tomorrow to a large glass of water!

Also by eating bran based cereal you are more likely to feel more energized in the first part of the day. It is full of B vitamins, iron and magnesium all of which promote energy production. The high fiber content keeps you full for longer and stabilizes blood sugar levels. By adding some chopped up banana you can double the effects, as bananas are rich in potassium and B vitamins and make it taste yummy!

Coconut oils have types of fat that are structured so that they can be turned into energy quickly and efficiently. This can help make you feel less sluggish throughout the day. My flat mate, who is always bouncing around in the mornings (I should’ve known she had a trick) eats coconut oil and honey on toast for breakfast. It’s delicious and gives her energy.

I think of eggs for breakfast, as a Sunday morning luxury but perhaps I should be eating eggs to give me energy from the get go. Eggs have a lot of protein and are high in iron which give you sustained energy throughout the day but it also contains a secret ingredient choline. Choline is a B-vitamin that is required for brain function and energy production. They can be pretty quick and easy to cook as well if you like them scrambled.

So there’s a few tips to help start your day energized and full of motivation. It also helps if your alarm doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out!!

I am an absolute carnivore so I don’t have a problem eating meat, however perhaps if I made a trip down to the meat-works I might feel differently. For those that feel guilt eating away at them as they have just done to a poor little cow or baby lamb then synthetic meat might be an actuality in the near future. Guilt free, juicy steaks for everyone!

Synthetic meat is meat grown in a lab from a sample of stem cells, cells that have the potential to become more than one type of tissue, that are encouraged to mature into muscle cells and effectively becoming an edible piece of meat. Sounds a bit sci-fi doesn’t it? But it has been achieved. The technology to be able to grow little pieces of cow has been around for a while now however it has never taken off as a possibility for commercial sale. The “steaks” are higher now and the potential is increasing.

Why do we need to make synthetic meat when the super markets are always stocked with meat for us to buy? The primary reasons currently are environmental and moral. The meat farming industry has copped a lot of flack in recent years for its contribution to greenhouse gases and mistreatment of animals but in actuality that is just the consequence of the demand. Not only does the industry cause pollution but also in order to provide the human race with the amount of meat we are consuming currently we must kill 1,600 farm animals every second plus the enormous amount of fish and shellfish. The amount of land it takes to farm livestock is another aspect to account for. It is 7 times the amount of land used for crops and land is going to be hard to come by with future population projections.

There is a reason that you have yet to taste or see one of these faux frankfurters though. It’s the complexity of meat that creates its flavour; the muscle fibers, the blood vessels, nerves, layers of fat and hundreds of natural chemicals that are produced by the cow when alive. Encouraging stem cells to grow into this complex structure is hard and completely mind blowing to me. Another factor to consider is although we hate the thought of killing animals our kind have been killing them since the beginning whereas we have never created meat in labs. The fear of the unknown is always going to be a problem to overcome in making synthetic meat commercially available.

So although these frankensteaks may be better for the planet and more sustainable it may be a while before they appear on our dinner plates.

]]>

https://biodiets101.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/frankensteaks-the-synthetic-meat-reality/feed/0asiarattenburyfrankensteakBEAUTY – A NUMBER ON THE SCALEShttps://biodiets101.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/beauty-a-number-on-the-scales/
https://biodiets101.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/beauty-a-number-on-the-scales/#respondThu, 16 May 2013 01:43:32 +0000http://biodiets101.wordpress.com/?p=132

40 million dollars are spent on weight loss programs in America alone each year. This is not including the many ‘weight loss’ and fat free branded foods; Pepsi Max, Coke zero, and Diet Coke are all part of the diet industry. Even celebrities feed the diet industry, presenting the ideal body that every diet promotes as possible. Beauty is no longer in the eye of the beholder; it’s in the number on the scales.

Not only are they charging exuberant amounts to make you miserable but they are also teaching you to be disappointed with slow weight loss which is the tried and tested way to keep weight off. This makes sense though, why would they want anyone to keep the weight off? The people who constantly fall of the wagon and return to dieting hell generate the biggest profit for them.

Scams like the lemon detox diet take $40 dollars off you, make you starve for a week or two, totally diminish your metabolism so that two weeks later you’ve packed the weight back on and reaching back in to that super tight jeans pocket of yours to give them another 40 bucks. The whole concept of the dieting industry ‘offering solutions for the obesity crisis’ is a contradiction in itself; often the effects of yoyo dieting are worse than being the overweight that dieters were originally.

Everything now days has 99% fat free on the cover but is fat really the enemy? No we are force fed information by the diet industry to make us think that but if a product is 99% fat but has heaps of sugar in it, it could well be worse for you. If you eat the fat free food and are still fat, chances are you’ll keep buying it. Some fats are in fact good (see fast foods post)! Those without motivation give the best advise; everything in moderation, smaller portion size, regular exercise, and the energy you put in shouldn’t exceed the energy you use in a day. The problem is no one listens to these wise mantra’s because it’s ‘too hard’, and the dieting industry is all too happy to provide the easier option at the cost of your health and wallet.

Ever wondered why Kirsty Alley and Oprah are constantly fat, then thin, then fat again? It’s because of the diets they endorse and yet people don’t seem to link the diets they do to their constant yo-yoing. So make the link guys. Don’t fall for those crafty CEO’s propaganda. Listen to the good guys. It’s not too hard to lose weight healthily and it’s ok that you don’t look like Miranda Kerr (she’s a freak!). If you take the time to lose it healthily you will save a lot of money and get to keep your sanity. BONUS!!

They’re creepy. They’re crawly. They’re super nutritious and can help you lose weight? Yes the new super food is insects and I’m thinking if people around the world in Asia and Africa can enjoy a tasty bug morsel then why cant the western world join in?

Studies performed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization have shown that many of the insects you would turn your nose up to when served as a meal, have the same amount of protein and minerals as meat with better, healthier fats. They are predicting that by 2020 insects will be a common sight at markets and food stalls, as they will become an integral part of western diet. It is said that conventional meats will become more expensive and scarcer pushing those who once gag at the thought to make eating grasshoppers common practice. The organization is promoting the consumption of beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, and other insects saying that they are underutilized food for people, livestock and pets

What makes insects so great you say? Well, insects have a much lower amount of cholesterol and higher protein content when compared to chicken and beef. Some even have more minerals and vitamins than can be found in regular livestock. Not only are the nutritionally better but also they are more sustainable for our consumer driven society. Much of a cow is thrown away before it reaches the countertop whereas insects have little waste associated with them. They are also a very efficient food source in terms of farming, insects eat only a small amount but this is converted into a more insect mass and a dense amount of protein. Carbon emissions from the little critters are far lower too so by eating them instead of beef you could be helping save the planets atmosphere.

The only problem being would YOU be happy eating an insect salad or cockroach soup? The thought of it makes my stomach turn and if your anything like me I think we will be in a lot of trouble come 2020. Remember watching Fear Factorand thinking “Oh no! I could handle the physical challenges but not the eating ones!!” Due to this rather huge problem work is being done to package insects in a reassuring and attractive manner. Things like cricket energy bars and BBQ worm crisps are already stocked in some places… it might be a good idea to try it.

Last post I gave you 5 excellent ways to speed up your metabolism that were tasty and very easy to add to your diet. There are however many ways to speed up your metabolism so here’s some more. You never know you may be a metabolism booster already!

A very common problem is that people misconceive being thirsty for being hungry and end up eating when all they need to do is drink some water. Studies have shown that drinking 6-8 cups of cold water can increase your metabolism by 30%, which is a huge increase for a simple case of sipping at a bottle of water. Even mild dehydration can cause the metabolism to decrease by 3%. By drinking either cold or hot water the body must thermo-regulate the water to maintain its internal temperature and burning calories doing so, in the same way as spice from the previous post. This however does not explain the 30% increase and it seems that scientists are non-the wiser on this aspect but it does work so why question it? Go buy a drink bottle TODAY and get drinking!

Oil! Now most people associate oil with greasy fast foods like KFC of fish and chips and don’t get me wrong those are terrible! However some oils such as olive oil, canola oil and oil from fish contain omega-3 oils that are hugely beneficial for your metabolism but also your brain. These omega-3 oils can boost your metabolism by 40 calories per day as they increase the levels of fat burning enzymes and decrease the level of fat storage enzymes. Enzymes are the little guys doing all the work in your body causing reactions to happen so with more of the fat burning workers around your sure to burn more fat.

Here’s some good news, having a cheaper power bill can contribute to weight loss. Keeping yourself too comfortable with fancy heaters and cooling systems is nice but the harsh truth of it is that it is slowing your metabolism. When we were roaming the plains of Africa as early humans there were no heating and cooling devises and our bodies had to do the work. This “work” called thermoregulation is a key factor in your basal metabolism as heating or cooling your body to maintain the appropriate internal temperature of the body burns calories. By using outside factors to maintain your body temperature is making your thermoregulatory tools lazy and your metabolism slow, so think twice about turning that heater on. But please don’t get a cold!

Lastly eating the majority of your food earlier in the day can help you burn more calories. This really does make sense as you are more active during the day and the more active you are the more calories your burn, when asleep only your basal (minimum) level of calories is burnt. Eating your main meal at lunch and a lighter meal at dinner means that there is a longer period of time where you are active to burn off the larger amount of calories (the main meal). This is likely to make you skip desert and instead have ice cream for breakfast!

The last two posts have given you some ideas to help boost your metabolism but remember regular exercise is the easiest way to boost the amount of calories you burn per day.

In this post I am not going to discuss a diet plan, rather the foods that help increase your metabolism and aid with weight loss. This is great to know because most of them taste great and can be added to your diet easily. The concept is; eat more to lose weight! Yippee!

If you’re a big tea drinker like me you might want to convert to green tea. This is number one on my list because its so easy to add to your diet and has so many benefits. Studies have shown that green tea helps burn fat so may be a better alternative to the greatly loved English breakfast. Green tea contains a substance called epigallocatechin gallate or more commonly known as EGCG, which is a substance that stimulates and speeds up your brain and nervous system. In order for your system to be able to run faster more calories must be used to provide the energy for this. Because losing weight is all about using more calories than you intake having this little fella help you along without any effort is awesome!

If you love fruit then adding more apples to your diet wont be a problem at all! Apples are very high in fibre so in order to break it down your body must use more calories. The amount of fibre in an apple also impedes the amount of glucose (sugar or carbohydrate) that is absorbed and converted to fat. By slowing this absorption apples make you feel fuller for longer so not only does it boost your metabolism but also puts an end to unnecessary snacking.

Eating a small amount of nuts a day can help to boost your metabolism. Almonds are a great source of fibre, protein and essential fatty acids and it’s actually the fatty acids that help to boost metabolism. Essential fatty acids are essential because the body cannot produce them; the only way to get them in the body is via food. They are also essential because they are a part of cell structures and hormones within the body. The body does not use essential fatty acids as a fuel and it costs calories to include them into the structures of the body, which is why they increase the metabolism.

If you can handle the heat then adding some spice such as cayenne pepper or chilli to your meat and veggies can help your metabolism along, and if your like me and love some spice then it’ll make your food taste great too. Your body has an intrinsic thermostat that measures the temperature of your body at all times. Each person has a slightly different temperature but the body tries to maintain its internal temperature to approximately 37°C, this process is called thermoregulation. For thermoregulation to work it must use calories (every action in the body costs calories) so by eating spicy food your body temperature rises. This means that more calories are used to fuel thermoregulation to maintain a normal internal temperature.

Lastly I encourage you all to channel Pop-Eye and his radical diet of spinach! Spinach actually does make you stronger and helps boost the metabolism as well as being nutritionally awesome; your muscles will be as big as the sailor man’s in no time! Spinach is full of protein and antioxidants that both build and repair muscle. The more muscle you have on your body (for those that don’t want to look the a body builder do not fear, if you don’t work out like they do you will only gain lean muscle and that just gives a toned and healthy look) the more calories are burnt because it takes a lot more energy to maintain muscle than it does fat.

These are just 5, easy things to add to your diet to help boost your metabolism. Ill give you some more to try next post!